The Pilot Who Stole a Secret Soviet Fighter Jet

On September 6, 1978, Soviet pilot Viktor Belenko flew a MiG-25 from a military airfield in Russia’s Far East. The fighter jet disappeared from radar; it landed at Hakodate airport in Japan after a while, and then Belenko asked for political asylum in the United States. Escapes from the USSR were not uncommon, but Belenko's case stands out. After all, he not only escaped but put at the disposal of the West a new secret Soviet aircraft.

In the new episode of “How It Was,” we will tell you about one of the loudest escapes from the USSR. What prompted the exemplary officer Viktor Belenko to leave the Soviet Union forever? How did he manage to cross the Soviet-Japanese border bypassing the radars? What did American President Gerald Ford answer to the USSR Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko after the country had requested that the U.S. extradite the pilot? You will also find out how Belenko's life subsequently developed in the United States.

Featuring footage from the documentaries:
«At the XXV CPSU Congress» / СSDF, 1976,
«Communism and Co-Existence», 1963 / Reagan Library,
«USSR Armed Forces aviation», newsreel, 1978 / Ministry of Defence of the USSR

Videos used:
President Reagan's Meetings with Andrei Gromyko of the Soviet Union on September 28, 1984 / Reagan Library
STRATEGIC AIR COMMAND SEMIANNUAL FILM REPORT / U.S. AEROSPACE AUDIO - VISUAL SERVISE / PublicResourceOrg

Photographs used: AP Photo / Boris Yurchenko, Allan warren / CC BY-SA 3.0, Eric Koch / Anefo, Verhoeff, Bert / Anefo, Lvova Anastasiya / CC BY-SA 3.0

[Rnzlr]

RIP. He passed away September 24, 2023. You can read about his life and how he managed his defection in the book "MiG-Pilot" by John Barron

[cu]

The United States knew about the MIG 25 already.
American engineers examined images of the craft and assumed it was a super-fighter jet that was unparalleled.
American military was terrified of the MIG 25.
F15 was designed in direct response in this fear to defeat it.
It turned out the MIG 25 wasn't as scary as they thought and the F15 was way over-engineered (which is why it is still the most successful fighter jet in history).

The reality:
The MIG 25 was a pure interceptor (not a fighter) designed to down long range NATO nuclear bombers.
It wasn't as scary as the United States thought. The airframe could only handle 4.5 G and it could only go Mach 3 for short distances.
The F15 beat the climb record the MIG25 set.
The "streak eagle" was likely faster than the stripped down MIG25 used to set the speed records.
The F15 can handle beyond 11 Gs in a pinch but can regularly go to 9.5 Gs.
The F15 has shot down MIG25s. No MIG 25 has shot down an F15.
The F15 has a 104-0 kill/death ratio.

[avor]

Great story! I find it hard to believe that no one knows his whereabouts.

[jiteshverma]

This channel is very, very underrated!

[oldstyleanalog]

This was the best documentary about Belenko

[qadirtimerghazin]

Good job, great video! 👍 Bad ass bold move by Belenko, he chose freedom and risked everything for it

[-C.S.R]

Read his book!
It's amazing!
I read it when I was a kid and I still think it's one of my favorite books.
It should be turned into a movie or a miniseries.
The leading up to the defection him finally doing it and him getting to see America and all the things that happened to him are crazy!

[AnthonyBrown]

I remember that story from the time it happened. I was interested I aircraft. It was thought that it was advanced but it turns out other than speed it wasn't very good. Nice to get more details and an update on the pilot etc

[Brm]

I read somewhere on the internet that he became an airline pilot before got killed in the plane crash as a passenger.

[milangacik-repcik]

You don´t have date correct... It was in 1976...

[Tyler_Owen]

They already knew about the mig25. And the mig 25 was an interceptor not an air superiority fighter like the f15 is.

[_]

so my slovak friend tried something similar over france :)

[genaholshouser]

Carter was the president of the united states in 1976 oops I was wrong it was ford.

[clover]

That Soviet pilot has got some balls on him

[EugenioMagay-fcgm]

I will NOT BE SURPRISED if they blame the Fall of Soviet Union on him too 🤣🤣🤣
Death heart attack 😂😂 that's a lot Anger 🤣🤣🤣

[ShaniAwais-uy]

Amazing what a ridiculous question at the end he asked why did he defect from USSR ?u already gave us the answer because Americans were afraid from this JET they want to study it isimple as that and still Americans talk about sovereignty it a slap on world face